Hunger Driven
by Daughter of Chaos
Summary: Oh Kami! Gohan's gonna starve! At least he thinks so... Thankfully Piccolo cares.


****

Disclaimer: 

Gohan and friends do not belong to me. Neither does the idea. It belongs to my stomach J .

****

Author's Notes: 

Holy balogne! Would you look at the size of this! Er, um, look, another Gohan fic! Like you expected otherwise from me, sillies. This was a concept derived in good fun, and I don't mind if any mistakes are poked at in the same way. I use an older Gohan in this, bear in mind, I AM a dubby who has not yet seen the teenage Gohan on TV, but I hope I got him down all right any way. All well, off to the Gohan tormenting, oops, loving! Review and ENJOY J !

****

Hunger Driven

Bright black eyes opened to greet the hazy morning. The young man stretched with a low moan in his bed before sitting up. A hand drifted up and rubbed at sleepy eyes. He stretched again, twisting silken white sheets in the process. This process had been a morning ritual for the past week. Including the part of waking up before the alarm. Speaking of which, it should be going off about… now.

BUZZZZZZ!!!!!!!

Gohan reached over and bopped the snooze button on the electronic clock. A scent caught his nose as he began the painstaking process of crawling out of bed. A scent that was sweet and lushes to his half Saiyan nose. Food. Breakfast, and French toast at that, if he were not mistaken. Mother made the best French toast.

Gohan did not take his time in pulling on a pair of loose fitting jeans and throwing his upper body into an airy light green button up T-shirt. The seventeen-year old knew that taking his time would cost him food in the end. He did not bother with the buttons on his shirt, nor did he bother with shoes, he simply took off at a trot to the kitchen. Gohan slowed his pace to a walk as he entered his mother's territory. 

The young man stuck his nose into the air and made exaggerated sniffing motions all the way to his mother's side at the stove. A smile graced his nearly adult features. "This smells wonderful, Mom!" He bent slightly and kissed her on the cheek. "Good morning."

Chi Chi smiled at her eldest son's antics. "Good morning Gohan. It doesn't matter how nice you are to me dear, you still won't get any before your father and brother come down here."

"I know that Mom. Would you like me to set the table?"

Chi Chi cocked her head as she looked at her eldest. "Certainly Gohan. Tell me, what's put you into such a good mood this morning dear?"

Gohan tilted his head in an unconscious imitation of his mother. "Well, little things today, I guess. I slept well last night, and woke up before the alarm this morning. And I come down stairs to find my mother is cooking my personal favorite, French toast."

He grabbed the plates from the cupboard and ducked his head before his mother could see his face. Gohan had this feeling that his face was likely bright red. The real reason for his good mood, was possibly the dream he had about Videl last night. A dream that he did get to finish, and had a good deal of reason to blush over. He finished setting the table and sat down lightly in his chair just before two 'elephants' came charging through the kitchen doorway.

Goten hopped over the back of his chair and landed rather gracefully in his seat, much to Gohan's surprise. Goku's entrance to the table was far less extravagant. He simply sat down, grabbed his eating utensils, and smiled expectantly at his wife. Chi Chi shook her head and stacked a pile of toast on each plate pre-syruped so there would be fewer arguments. 

The three, ahem, boys dug into their breakfast with vigor. Gohan had the unfortunate luck to be the slowest of the eaters today. He had made it through four pieces on his stack and had the corner of the fifth on his fork as the other two finished. Both sets of eyes looked at their own empty plates and up to Gohan's still semi-full one. The teenager narrowed his eyes and protectively wrapped his arms about his plate. The tactic was to no avail against brother and father though.

Both blurred out of sight at the exact same time and before Gohan could truly register it, his chair had been tipped backwards, sending both he and it crashing to the floor. He sat stunned as his breakfast and plate disappeared within moments. Goten swiped a hand a crossed his face in a half hearted effort to clean it and bent over his brother. Noting that he was dazed, Goten happily smiled and grabbed the fork from Gohan's hand, ate the piece of toast off of it, and put it back into his brother's fist. 

Gohan blinked a few moments later and rolled off the chair. On hands and knees, he looked at the table to find his food gone, the fork jabbed angrily in his hand and he glanced at it as well. The food, was gone. The half Saiyan sighed and shrugged before making his way to a standing position. He stood the chair back up and idly wondered where his mother had gotten off to, and if perchance there was any delicious treats in the refrigerator. 

A note was held by a magnet to the Son's ivory colored refrigerator. Chi Chi precise script decorated its surface. It simply stated: 'I've gone shopping. I will be home in time to cook supper. Love Mom.'

Gohan nodded his understanding to the note, as if it were truly Chi Chi her self, and opened the fridge. He found crumbs and a spilt jug of milk. The teenager blinked. A whirlwind by the name of Goku and Goten had beaten him to the punch. Gohan risked a glance at the cupboards he had previously ignored and found each door open; each boxed area deprived of edible items. Gohan sighed again; perhaps this wasn't a good day after all. 

_____________________

The young man truly hadn't planned to spend the day hunting down food, but it really wasn't like he had anything better to do. His search of the house had revealed all edible items gone, along with his brother and father. A search around the house revealed all berries and/or nuts of the season had mysteriously vanished as well. All animals seemed to have gone into permanent hiding. Discovering that his search of the local area was fruitless (both literally and figuratively) Gohan had moved farther out. So far out in fact, that he was brought face to face with the area where he had been trained by Piccolo when he was young. 

The teenager smiled fondly at let the memories sweep him away from his problem of the day. So lost was he to his thoughts, that he did not sense a presence behind him. A being that embodied power and a killing ability. Said being was not stupid enough to growl and alert it's potential prey. Instead, it simply pounced, latching on to the prey's upper limb with needle sharp teeth. 

Gohan howled out more do to being startled than pain. He looked at his limb; to find a cat like beast solidly attached. The man-child let out a growl of his own and gave his arm a vicious shake. The beast's death grip did not give, but Gohan's skin did. It screeched a cat like screech as it fell over the convenient cliff he stood upon. Gohan looked at his torn biceps and quietly cursed.

The need for food still nagged at the half Saiyan's mind, but the need to stave off infection and stop the flow of blood came as more of a priority. He looked about for the ingredients to make a salve and a nice sized leaf. Some morbid sense of humor reared its head as Gohan began grinding down the ingredients for his cure-all. It was funny really, that he could find the necessities for healing, but not feeding. The man-child applied the leaf with a grimace of supposed pain, leftover from childhood. 

Now, back to that theory of sustenance. Gohan flew down to the bottom of the cliff, pleased to find his unexpected 'friend' gone. Something red caught the eye of the starving teenager, it dangled temptingly from the limb of a nearby tree. Gohan knew what it was, apple. Sweet, succulent, apple. He sniffed at the air to smell it in its glory, gazed upon it to memorize the perfect shape. Perhaps Dende really did care about starving friends. 

Gohan stumbled forward, half dazed by the simple thought of appeasing his growling stomach. A hand reached out, palm up, half preying to, half-pleading with the beautiful nutrient source. A very large bird soared not that far beyond the tree as well. The overgrown eagle had certainly noticed the sudden lack of food today. As if the mother of nature had decided that all of her children needed only a liquid diet today. It too had spotted the red shiny object. Small, but a taster was better than nothing. Feathers whooshed and the air born creature dive-bombed the tree. Mouth open, both limb and apple were swallowed in a single gulp and the eagle flew back to his heights. 

The demi-Saiyan blinked, sighed, and rested his arm back at his side. His midsection howled out its disappointment. A perpetual problem this day. Gohan dropped his head and dragged his weary body to a near by lake. A small pond really, but its fresh water served to quench the boy's thirst, if not hunger. Kneeling as he was, to best cup the water in his hands, Gohan fancied the idea that maybe there were fish in this lake. 

The man child absentmindedly wiped his hands on his jeans and watched the depths. A movement struck him. Instinct born of hunger took control of his mental compacities and his body jerked forward into the water. The shock of cold liquid opened young eyes and Gohan came face to face with the worst sort of fish he could imagine; the Meancholoro. The man-child swallowed hard and swam backward carefully. The Meancholoro, after all, was the more primitive gigantic cousin to the electric eel. 

Mr. Mean was not pleased with the foreign intruder in his yard. This pond was his property and nothing with fins was allowed to enter, let alone any of those disgusting land dwelling creatures. Mr. Mean's body shivered in anger as he built up his natural energy, his natural defense. He would show this putrid land creature not to go where it did not belong. So, with bubbled fish swearing, Meancholoro let loose with his built up electrical store. 

The zap was such that moved at light speeds through the water. Gohan had not a chance. He wailed in shock, disturbing the waters with large, unearthly bubbles. The teenager flew straight towards the sky. He made it out of the water, where his body decided to rebel, and he fell, landing hard on his back on the ground. Gohan lay panting and spluttering while his stomach turned at sudden movements while empty. 

He closed his eyes for a moment to catch his breath.

Apparently, the half Saiyan had dozed off as the next thing he remembered was feeling a presence right above him. The combined effort of growing body, lack of food, and at this point, lack of care, made it so Gohan would only open his eyes slowly to whatever threat there may be. Above his face, as if by maricle, two beautiful apples were suspended. An emerald hand held both with ease as green and pink arm stretched back beneath the folds of a stunning white cape. The teenager looked further up and discovered the face of his mentor, smirking in silent humor.

Gohan found his thoughts thrown to his time training again, when the two apples had appeared from no where. He had always suspected Mr. Piccolo to be the culprit in that incident, but now he had his proof. With a weary grin of his own, the demi-Saiyan sat up and snatched the fruit. Within seconds nothing was left to say they had ever been.

"Thank you Mr. Piccolo."

"Hmf. Not a problem kid. I thought that since you had taken the liberty to wander around my territory for six hours and collapse, that perhaps you were hungry."

"Heh, you were watching me?"

Piccolo gave a casual shrug. "After watching your father, brother, and Trunks sweep through the area and clean out most of the food supplies, I was intrigued."

"Yeah, I was the slow eater today. Mom went shopping, probably with Bulma if Trunks was on the food run too."

"The slow eater, I would not have guessed."

A slow blush crept back on to Gohan's features. "I was, umm, distracted… Hey Mr. Piccolo? Have I told you about Videl yet?"

"Three times boy," He reached down and grabbed Gohan's lower arm, dragging the teenager to his feet. "And I'm sure I'll hear again while training with you today."

"Training?"

Piccolo gave the "boy" a you-should-really-know-better-by-now look. "Oh, all right! But… Can we stop someplace for sustenance first, I'm starving!"

As if backing the man-child's pleas, his stomach growled ominously from beneath the light green shirt. The mentor smirked again. "I do know where the food raid did not touch, and I believe you will find what you need there."

"All right! Let's go Mr. Piccolo!"

The elder shock his head, small smile still playing on his lips. With no further comment, he leapt gracefully into the air. The younger followed his mentor like a loyal puppy, while struggling for coherent thought around the persistent ache for food. No matter how much he tried though, Gohan was surely hunger driven.

You guys like? I hope so. Given that this was a more than one night venture and all. Cheers to all the happy faces I hopefully helped to bring forth this day! J


End file.
